This invention relates to a quick release mechanism for leg hold type animal traps. The mechanism disclosed below has application on several types of animal traps. Two embodiments are disclosed below, one for a double lever-type trap and the other a so-called "jump" trap which has only one lever and one spring.
Furthermore, this invention has particular application for use on traps which do not have serrated jaws but have smooth jaws or rubber, padded jaws to trap, but not kill or injure, the animal. These traps are used to protect livestock and property from dogs and other small animals. In such cases, the object is not to kill or injure the animal but simply to trap the animal so that it can be removed from the property. In other situations, such animals are inadvertently trapped in traps which are intended to trap fur-bearing animals. In this case, it is also desirable to simply release the inadvertently trapped animal. However, in most cases the animal is in pain and will not let one get close enough to the trap to open it.
Conventional traps of the general type to which this invention relates are designed so that the jaws are always under spring tension. Ordinarily, to open the jaws of the trap and release the animal the levers must be pushed back into their open position against the pressure of the spring. In some traps, the springs are so powerful that the only way the jaws can be opened is to stand on the levers. This obviously very difficult, if not impossible, to do with an injured caught in the trap. Therefore, in many cases the animal must be rendered unconscious or even killed in order to get close enough to the trap to open the jaws. This is unnecessary, cruel and inhumane and yet the trapper understandably wants to avoid being injured himself.